Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) Technical Advisor

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global leader in providing emergency relief, rehabilitation, post conflict development, human rights protection, resettlement services and advocacy for refugees and other uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. The IRC is committed to restoring hope, freedom, dignity, and self-reliance.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The IRC has a long tradition of offering refuge to those fleeing persecution and war, and is unique in that we support refugees both abroad and in the U.S. as they seek to build new lives. In 2012, the International Rescue Committee's 22 regional offices helped resettle some 7,600 newly arrived refugees and provided services to over 24,000 refugees, asylees, and victims of human trafficking.The IRC assists refugees to become self-reliant and well integrated in their new communities, by offering access to tools and services such as: housing, job placement and vocational training, -healthcare, education, English-language classes, legal services and community development.

Refugee women and girls face violence and abuse in their home countries and many of these risks continue as they seek refuge and protection in the U.S. While IRC and a broad network of service providers function in the U.S., services are not reaching enough refugee women and girls survivors of violence, nor are they always designed to meet their specific needs.

IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and thorough accountability to those we serve. IRCis one of the only humanitarian organizations to maintain an independent Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) Technical Unit. This team of experts ensures that IRC’s programs adhere to the principles of best practice and promote the ongoing evolution of knowledge and practice in the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls. Together, the WPE Technical Unit supports 18 country programs working in partnership with communities and institutions to promote and protect women’s and girls’ human rights through gender equality and to meet the safety, health, psychosocial and justice needs of gender-based violence survivors. IRC is recruiting a WPE Technical Advisor (TA) to join this Technical Team and to partner with our US Programs.

SCOPE OF WORK

IRC’s US Programs (USP) operates in 22 cities and serves women and girls every day. The Technical Advisor will drive forward IRC’s ability to more effectively protect and respond to violence against women and girls throughout our domestic programs. To this end, the TA will support US Programs to enhance its work with women and girls, particularly looking at reducing and mitigating the risks of violence pre and post-resettlement, as well as throughout our programs in the US. The Technical Advisor will work with US Programs staff to identify strategic entry points to work with women, girls, families, and communities, and identify current successful models within US Programs to be replicated. The TA will be responsible for working with senior management and IRC staff to create procedures, tools, resources, and develop ways to strengthen case management systems that are culturally appropriate for the diverse populations IRC works with in the US.

Technical support will be conducted through remote and on-site assistance. This position will spend up to 30% of their time traveling to offices within the US, and at least one international trip per year.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Program

The Technical Advisor will be responsible for ensuring US Programs has the proper guidance, support, and technical knowledge to safely, ethically, and effectively combat and respond to violence against women and girls. The first step of this effort will be conducted through a pilot project initiative. The Technical Advisor will support all aspects of related program management including communications, budget, reporting, monitoring, timely implementation of deliverables, and technical support and guidance. The TA will be responsible for the development and roll out the procedures and tools, staff capacity building and training, and working with and supporting internal and external partnerships. The TA will also have the opportunity to help facilitate culturally appropriate linkages with service providers in the community, as well as strengthen how IRC empowers communities to lead efforts that challenge beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate or condone violence against women.

Overseeing the implementation of the pilot project and monitoring progress in 2-3 US cities.

Creating or modifying tools, resources, and training modules to support US Programs to effectively address violence against women and girls.

Training IRC US Programs staff from the selected pilot projects sites to build capacity to have the right language, resources, protocols and procedures to address violence against women and girls.

Working with local offices to develop realistic work plans to support the implementation of the pilot.

Reviewing and commenting on concept notes and proposals to ensure technical quality.

Responding to relevant technical queries/concerns in a timely manner.

Generating, reviewing, and commenting on reports and other documents as needed (internal program reports and donor reports).

Partnerships and LinkagesStrategic partnerships are integral in bringing stakeholders together to work towards long-lasting, sustainable change in responding to and reducing violence against women and girls. This will be accomplished by:

Supporting US Programs to identify partners who are established within the local and national domestic violence and sexual violence networks.

Assisting the US Programs network to identify entry points and opportunities in refugee and aslyee communities to build awareness and support for survivors and culturally appropriate ways to address violence.

Building linkages between IRC’s domestic and international programs, best practice, and learning to strengthen our response to assisting women and girls.

Representation

The Technical Advisor will be responsible for providing timely and quality information to enhance relationships with key stakeholders, donors, and government agencies, including the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). This will be accomplished by:

Contributing to policy and practice discussions that relate to addressing violence against women and girls in close collaboration with US Programs leadership and the US Program advocate.

Represent IRC and its programs and vision, at seminars, briefings, workshops and in interagency fora as required.

Qualifications:

MSW, MPH degree in public health, social work, or other related degree; or equivalent program experience.
At least 5 years of experience in direct service delivery and case management in violence against women and girls working with refugee and/or immigrant populations. Project management experience strongly preferred.
Strong facilitation, capacity building, and staff community training skills required.
Demonstrated experience in resource and curriculum development, as well as the ability to work independently and productively in a fast-paced environment.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to successfully and effectively liaise with people in multi-cultural environments.
Excellent Computer skills: MS Word, Excel, and database software.
Foreign language ability a plus.

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